First Fleet Arrives: European Settlement in Australia
Eleven ships carrying 751 convicts, along with marines and their families, dropped anchor at Botany Bay on January 18, 1788, after an eight-month voyage from Portsmouth. Captain Arthur Phillip quickly determined that Botany Bay lacked fresh water and decent anchorage, so he moved the settlement to Port Jackson, where Sydney now stands. The colony nearly starved in its first years. Convicts included petty thieves, forgers, and political prisoners from Ireland, some transported for offenses as minor as stealing a loaf of bread. Britain had turned to Australia only after losing the American colonies eliminated its primary dumping ground for prisoners. The arrival permanently disrupted the lives of Aboriginal Australians who had inhabited the continent for over 65,000 years. Disease, violence, and forced displacement reduced their population catastrophically over the following century.
January 18, 1788
238 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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